Hopper car evacuator



March 30, 1954 L. G. PLANT HOPPER CAR EVACUATOR Filed June 29, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l Leland 6. Plant INVEN TOR.

March 30, 1954 Filed June 29, 1950 L. G. PLANT HOPPER CAR EVACUATOR 3 Sheets-$heet 2 INVENTOR.

March 30, 1954 G. PLANT 2,673,651

HOPPER CAR EVACUATOR Filed June 29, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 7

FIGS.

Leland Gv Plant INVENTOR.

BY jf m Patented Mar. 30, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to hopper car evacuators, and more particularly to machines for accelerating the discharge of coal, ore and other bulk materials of like nature from railway cars of the hopper type by setting up a vibration in the car structure and thus causing a cleavage between these materials and interior surfaces of the car body, allowing the contents of the car to flow freely downward and through hopper door openings.

I am aware that it has been proposed to employ vibrating machines that are demountable, laid across opposite edges of the car sides to which they transmit hammer blows in rapid rhythmic succession, causing the car structure to vibrate with such force as to shake loose its contents, allowing it to flow downward through the hopper door openings. This action in such prior devices is created by a rapidly revolving eccentrically weighted rotor which alternately lifts the frame of the machine and then drives it downward upon the top edges of the car. When the rotor in such devices is turning at certain speeds below a critical rate it may cause the machine to jump clear of the car sides unless heavily weighted. At higher rotor speeds the movement of these machines becomes a vibration within limited space. In some machines of this type the rotor revolves around an axis parallel to the car sides but the frame thereof is not held against either side with sufficient force to exert the effect of its vibratory motion in a horizontal plane. As the force of downwardly directed blows depends upon the total weight of the machine as well as upon centrifugal force generated by the rotor the frame of these machines is ordinarily constructed to weigh several tons. This necessitates a crane mechanism to place the machine in an operating position on top of the car and to remove it therefrom after the car is unloaded. On car unloading piers, where these machines would be employed to service long lines of cars standing over chutes through which their contents is delivered to boats standing alongside, the required construction of an overhead crane runway may involve such expense as to prohibit installation oi these machines. Where traveling cranes can be provided for handling these machines wages of a crane operator may largely offset the labor cost saved in unloading by the aid of such machines.

Lighter machines have been devised which can be hung upon one side of a car by means of a portable crane wheeled upon the ground. These machines also employ an eccentrically weighted rotor to produce a vibrating motion which is transmitted horizontally to the side of a car against which it is held tightly by means of an attachment to the car underfname pulling horizontally upon the machine with a tension that can be adjusted. In such a machine the force of its vibrating motion in a horizontal plane upon the car side can be increased by increasing said tension but in a vertical plane the force of its downwardly directed blows upon the top edges of a car is limited by the weight of the machine and this limits the centrifugal force that can safely be generated by its rotor.

In machines of both types above described the rotor is driven by an electric motor flexibly mounted upon its frame in such manner as to cushion the vibration therein either by springs or rubber pads. This feature alone presents one of the chief problems in design of these machines to prevent deterioration of the motor from incessant severe vibration in the frame on which mounted. In one patented device a vibratory machine is illustrated and described as having its vibrator consisting of a rotor with its motor drive rigidly mounted on the bridge which rests upon and spans the car sides but in practice the motor is generally mounted upon a frame supported by springs interposed between it and parts of the bridge frame subjected to vibration from the rotor rigidly mounted therein.

The present invention makes. the operation of an eccentrically weighted rotor more effective by mounting it beyond the center of gravity of the evacuator machine and at such a distance from h the side of a car that it exerts both horizontally and vertically directed blows upon the top edge of a car to which attached while alternately pounding in a horizontal direction with a succession of blows delivered against the side of the car at substantially its underframe or floor level. Machines designed to exert only a downwardly directed pounding upon both edges of a car simultaneously produce a bouncing motion of the car body upon its springs which may tend to pack its contents more solidly upon the car floor rather than loosen it as accomplished by the present invention which tends to produce a rocking motion in the car superstructure supplementing the vibration produced in its sides and floor structure. This is accomplished by bracketing the rotor in such a cantilevered position in relation to the side of a car to which attached that it exerts a leverage thereon augmenting the force of its weight tending to rock the car body upon its springs. For most effective operation the axis of the unbalanced rotor is not only spaced outwardly a substantial distance from the car side when the evacuator is suspended from the top of the car, but is located substantially closer to the under frame or floor level than to the point of suspension, or in other words, the rotor axis is located beyond an arc having a radius extending half way from the point of support of the evacuator from the car side as a center of the arc to the point of contact of the car en aging means with the car side.

In this invention the position of its eccentrically weighted rotor relative to the car is such that the vibration in the side frame members of the machine produces both a horizontally and vertically directed pounding upon the top edge of the car the intensity of which can be increased in either direction proportionally as determined by design in contrast to other machines of the type described which are limited in their operation upon the top edge of the car to blows directed in a vertical plane only. The invention is also original in the nature of action upon the side of av car because any increase in weight of the machine itself, or any increase of weight attached to the machine tends to increase the intensity of its hammering effect directed horizontally against the car at or near the level of its floor and underframe.

The effectiveness of this machine may if desired be further augmented by means of a weighted cord or cords attachable to the track rail or other anchorage so that when tightened upon a drum shaft extending between side frames of the machine they exert a pull upon said machine downward and toward the car at an inclination of approximately 45. The tension in these cords may be increased by adding to weights resting upon them and by turning the drum shaft upon which they are wound, a ratchet device being provided upon the drum shaft for maintaining the desired tension in said cords. The effect of these weighted cords thus held in tension is to increase the weight of the machine bearing down upon the top edge of the car side to which applied and to increase the weighted pressure of the machine bearing horizontally against the side of the car by approximately the same amount. For instance, a weight of 1500 pounds laid upon these cords while tightened as described is equivalent to adding approximately 2500 pounds to the pressure of the machine bearing vertically down upon the top edge of the car and approximately 2500 pounds to the pressure of the machine bearing horizontally against the side of the car. By thus augmenting the effective weight of this machine the speed and unbalanced weight of its rotor may be raised so as to increase the centrifugal force generated with a resultant increase in intensity of vibration transmitted to the car structure.

An advantage gained by the means employed in this invention as compared with other machines in which their structural weight is alone depended on to force their vibrating blows downward upon the top of the car sides is that the intensity of vibration generated by centrifugal forces in the rotor may be built up to a higher pitch in relation to the actual weight of the weighing over 6000 pounds. Aside from this economy in design any reduction in weight helps to make the machine more easily portable. In place of an overhead crane being required to transport my machine from car to car it can be drawn on a wheeled truck alongside of the cars to be serviced and attached thereto by jacking means with which the car truck is equipped.

Coupled with the advantages above, cited my machine is adapted to be driven from the power take-off of a tractor used for towing the truck on which this machine is mounted. A small sized farm tractor of the conventional type is suitable for this purpose. The driving means employed by the machine is also adapted to derive its power from an electric motor mounted separately from the frame of the machine, the power being transmitted through a universally jointed shaft so that it is not necessary to mount the motor upon spring supports or other cushioning means to protect it from vibration in the machine when operating.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the machine as it appears facing the side of a hopper car in a position to be applied thereto. In this view the machine is shown resting on a trailer truck coupled to a tractor. Position of the machine when attached to the top side edge of this car is indicated by broken lines;

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the rotor with its plurality of weights grouped adjacently as shown in solid lines to produce an eccentric loading upon the shaft and oppositely disposed as shown in broken outline to produce a balanced loading upon the shaft;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the rotor partially viewed (to the right) in plane X-X of Fig. 2;

Fig. 3a is a longitudinal section of the rotor viewed to the left in plane YY of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the machine viewed from its end facing the tractor or motor by which it is driven and illustrating its application to the side of a conventionally constructed railway car of the hopper type of which a partial View is shown in section. An end view of the trailer truck used for moving the machine from car to car also appears in this view;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the trailer truck and an end elevation of the machine viewed from its end opposite to that shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation in plane Z-Z of Fig. 1, showing the machine as supported upon a trailer truck for movement from car to car; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation also in plane Z--Z of Fig. 1, but showing the machine applied to one side of a hopper car of a type used for carrying ore. Attachment by means of a weighted cord from the machine to an anchorage below the car, such as the track rail and a crosssectional elevation of the trailer truck frame from which the machine can be elevated by hydraulic plunger means for placing it on and removing it from the side of cars is indicated in this drawing.

In these drawings:

A is an arm extension of each side of the machine frame contoured to engage the top edge of a hopper type car and a is an angle shaped member pinned loosely to the underside of two parallel arms A, to absorb their wear and distribute their weight upon the car side where in contact along its top edge.

B is a buffer block pocketed against one edge of each frame member with its other end bearing against the car side 1; at its underframe or floor level. Blocks of various lengths (as indicated by comparing Figs. 4 and. '7) can be inserted in the position shown for adapting this machine to use with cars of different heights and side contours.

C is the cylindrical casing for a rotor mounted on bushings c which turn on a shaft supporting the rotor.

D is a shaft upon which the rotor is mounted and cl are heavy duty bearings of the ball or roller type supporting the shaft at both ends.

E i a sheave keyed to one end of shaft D and e is a sheave keyed to one end of the rotor casing C. These sheaves may be of the V-belt drive type as shown and sheave E is preferably of the variable pitch design.

F is a horizontal plate member of the machine frame bolted to vertical side plates 1 of which the arms A are extensions.

G is the companion to sheave E and g is the companion to sheave e, both of which are mounted on a floating shaft S supported in such a manner as illustrated so that whil remaining parallel to shaft D, its distance therefrom is self-adjusted by means of weights and/or springs as shown to maintain a desired tension in the belts engaging these two sets of sheaves. diameter of sheave G may be made greater than in E and the pitch diameter of sheave g may be made less than in e, a indicated on the drawing. Neither sheave G nor 5! is keyed to the shaft on which mounted.

H is a universally jointed shaft extension to the above described floating shaft whereby said floating shaft can be driven from the drive shaft of a separately mounted power source such an an electric motor or the engine of an industrial or conventional farm type tractor through its power take-off shaft as here indicated. A clutch h is keyed upon the floating shafts between sheaves G and g and designed to engage either sheave selectively or to remain disengaged from both sheaves at will. In Fig. 1 a clutch of the double, multiple disk type is illustrated in outline drawn approximately to scale in relation to adjacent sheaves.

I indicates a system of weights and cords (either chain or wire rope as shown here) with means for attaching and detaching one end thereof to or from the car underframe or to the track rail by a latch such as i. The other end of each cord may be fastened to a ratcheted drum shaft between frame members i, by which means the cord tension can be adjusted as desired. The weights shown resting on these cords when anchored as described are pivotally suspended from said drum shaft. Various mechanisms may be employed to wind the drum shaft either manually through a train of gears or by power means such as an hydraulic plunger working upon a ratchet arm. Th effect of this system when the cords are anchored as shown is to tend to draw the frame members downward and toward the car with a force that may considerably eX- ceed the actual weight resting on said cords, as cited in the preceding specification.

J is a jack preferably of the hydraulic type located vertically below a hole cut in frame member F to engage the upper pointed end of the jack plunger so that a table plate 7' with which this plunger is fitted below said point can support the machine vertically in line with its center of The pitch gravity. The height of thi jack and the stroke of its plunger are so designed that when the machine is lowered it may rest upon a foundation block if not necessary to move the machine from car to car or upon the trailer truck frame as i1- lustrated in Fig. 6, and when the plunger is raised the angle a, on arms A, will clear the top side of a hopper car enabling the machine to be moved into a position from which when lowered it will come to rest upon the top edge of the car side. With the machine thus positioned on the car the plunger of jack J can be further lowered as illustrated in Fig. 7, so as to become disengaged from F and entirely free from contact with the machine. When the machine is thus mounted on a car its rotor can be operated by the shaft H in the position shown in broken outline on Fig. 1. When the jack J is mounted on a fixed foundation block the machine can be pivotably rotated thereon so that when not in use its arms A incline away from and clear the sides of passing oars. When mounted on a truck as here illustrated the machine can be wheeled to a position from which when lowered its arms A and angle iron 0, will engage the top edge of the car side opposite which it has been placed and when raised it can be moved away therefrom so as to allow required track clearance when the machine is not in use.

K are swivel mounted casters supporting a movable truck frame on which this machine can be carried from car to car, its attachment to and detachment from cars serviced being accomplished by means of the hydraulically operated jack J, or equivalent mechanism for this purpose. In the construction illustrated a three-point suspension of the truck frame is approximated by grouping the casters K, as shown, to avoid use of equalizer levers or the need for springs in supporting the truck body over uneven ground although suoh equipment may be used.

L is such an arrangement of links as may be employed for connecting the trailer truck with the tractor by which it is drawn or pushed, an object of the arrangement shown being to manipulate the trailer in a desired path by steering when moving in either direction as may be necessary when shifting the machine back and forth in an aisle between long lines of cars narrowly spaced. In such location the machine can be pivotally turned upon the jack J and made to service cars on either side of the aisle by extending the shaft on which sheaves G and g are driven so that this shaft can be rotated by a connection at either of its ends with shaft H.

M is a weight or set of weights fastened to the inside of rotor casing C by bolt m and cocupying a quadrant of approximately 45 relative to the shaft D on both sides of the central vertical partition within the casing C.

N is another weight or set of weights also occupying a quadrant of approximately 45 relative to shaft 1) upon which they are mounted and keyed thereto on both sides of a central vertical partition within the casing C. A bar 11. is fastened longitudinally upon the inside periphery of C in such position that when this casing is being rotated by power applied to sheave c it will cause shaft D to rotate with weight N resting against and propelled by said bar in a position relative to shaft D directly opposite from weights M as these turn with the casing to which they are fastened. When the shaft D is being driven by power applied to sheave E, the Weight or weights N rotate in contact with weight M, pro

'pelling the latter along with the casing C to which they are fastened, in which operation all of the weights are grouped on one side of shaft D. In the operation first described with power applied to sheave e, the weights disposed oppositely to each other relative to shaft D exert centrifugal forces upon said shaft that approximately balance each other but in the second operation described in which the power is applied to sheave E, all weight is disposed upon one side of shaft D so that as this weight is rapidly turned in rotation about said shaft the centrifugal force generated tends strongly to oscillate the shaft which in turn transmits a violent vibratory movement to the machine frame through bearing d, to the arms A and to the buffer blocks B.

O is the outline of a traction wheel and a bar of the type furnished with some tractors for attaching farm implements.

P represents the power take-ofi shaft with which many tractors are equipped, positioned indicated in relation to its traction wheels and implement attachment bar. The speed at which this power take-off shaft ordinarily rotates is J is lowered until it is free from the frame member F. The tension in cords of system I with pivoted weights resting thereon is tightened after latching z' to the rail so that these cords are drawing down and sideways upon frame members I. After starting the motor drive or tractor engine with its power take-off shaft connected to the machine through flexibly jointed shaft H, the clutch h is first shifted to enga e sheave g, by which means the casing C is brought up to a speed of 400 revolutions per minute, more or less. During this operation and at the speed thus at tained the centrifugal forces generated by rotating weights M and N balance each other in relation to the shaft D so that the machine has no appreciable tendency to vibrate. Then by shifting clutch h to engage sheave G, the drive is directed to the shaft D through sheave E and as the speed of this shaft increases because of the altered ratio in size between the driving and driven sheaves the weights M and N assume a grouped relation to shaft D with their combined center of gravity eccentric thereto so as to exert a strong centrifugal force upon said shaft causing it to oscillate but with such rapidity in opposing directions that its motion resolves itself into a vibratory movement transmitted to the top and sides of the car through arms A and blocks 13, exerting downwardly and outwardly directed blows upon the top edge of the car alternating with blows horizontally directed against the side sill or side plate of the car.

In accordance with my invention it will be noted that the bearings for the shaft of the eccentric rotor are mounted between the plate-like tension frame members or arms A which extend upwardly to a terminal hook portion which engages the top of the car. The rotor is mounted at approximately the level of the floor of the hopper car and the center of gravity of the evacuator is between the rotor axis and the side of the car. i

The removable buffer block or compression member B, which may be of any suitable length depending on the particular circumstances, is insertable and extends inwardly from the platellke frame members or arms A and lies between the rotor axis and the point of engagement with the car side.

This arrangement is structurally adapted to supporting heavily weighted rotors employing up to 25 horsepower to operate them at speeds producing eccentric forces sufficient to rock a heavily loaded car body upon its springs and simultaneously vibrate its underframe by hammer like blows directed horizontally thereon in contrast to evacuators having a beam structure hooked to the top edge of the car at its upper end and fastened fixedly at its lower end to the car underframe by an unresilient tension member drawn tightly so as to hold the vibrating unit in a position pressing against the car side opposite a point on the beam structure intermediate to these attachment points. In evacuators of this type the beam members are subjected to bending stresses of such severity that to apply more than 5 horsepower to the eccentrically weighted shaft would necessitate a beam structure of prohibitive weight and would subject the car side wall to destructive forces.

My invention successfully employs rotors of sufiicient weight operated at speeds found most effective in dislodging ores of plastic consistency from the heaviest loaded cars in a machine of substantially less weight relative to the power applied than vibrating machines of the type that are laid across the top of a car and the power that can be applied to its rotor is not limited by bending stresses in a beam structure or by destructive effect upon the side walls of a car as in machines held fixedly against the car side by a tension bar drawn tightly to the car underframe. In my machine the rotor is so located that it may be held in position solely by its Weight and that of its supporting frame, exerting a pull downward and outwardly upon the top edge of the car, subjecting its frame to tension only in the plates extending upwardly from the rotor bearings and to compression only in a line from these bearings toward compression members in the form of buffer blocks through which it contacts the car side at its underframe or floor level. By altering the size of these blocks the machine can be adapted to cars of different side contours and have its frame carried rotor spaced at a desired distance from the car side.

While I may augment the pressure of this evacuator machine through buffer blocks upon the car side by a resilient system of weights and cords as described in the specification and shown in accompanying drawings, I avoid drawing it against the car side in a fixed relation thereto by any unresilient attachment pulled tightly in tension. It has been found in the practice of this invention that freedom of the rotor carrying frame members to hammer upon the car through buffer block members, preferably at its underframe or floor level, adding impact to the other forces at work is far more effective in dislodging the contents of a car than the action of a machine held fixedly against the ear side by an attachment thereto in tension.

The above action in my machine is analogous to that in vibrating machines laid across the top of cars and which depend on gravity to hold them in a bouncing position upon the top edges of the car but my machine has the advantage of directing these blows against the side of the car in a horizontal direction tending to dislodge the contents whereas blows directed vertically downward upon the car sides sometimes tend to pack its contents more densely rather than to dislodge it.

As will be seen, my evacuator is a, fundamentally different conception in its action upon the car from that of an evacuator in which the rotor is held fixed in a tightly pressed position against the side plates of a car whereby it merely serves to flex or drum the side wall structure and in practice it has displaced machines of that type which have been found wholly ineffective for such service as my machine is successfully ren dering.

In this machine the relative intensity of these vibratory blows upon the car structure in each direction can be proportioned as desired by altering the weights being rotated, the weight and cord tension in system I, and the weight of the machine itself as well as the distance at which the rotor is bracketed from the car side, while the magnitude of forces generated to produce vibration in the car structure can be built up as desired by increasing the speed and/or unbalanced weight within the rotor as desired without a proportional increase in the aggregate weight of this machine.

I claim:

1. An evacuator for hopper cars, comprising a rotor carrying frame, an unbalanced rotor supported by said frame, rigid means carried by the frame extending upwardly from the rotor for suspending the evacuator from the top of one side of the hopper car with the axis of the rotor parallel with the car side, and separate rigid car engaging means carried by the frame and extending from the frame inwardly to the car side substantially at its underframe or floor level, adapted when the evacuator is suspended from the top of the car side to pound the side of the car at said point of engagement and spacing the rotor substantially away from the car body, the rotor axis being located substantially closer to the level of the underframe or floor than to the level of the point of suspension of the evacuator from the top of the car side, said evacuator when suspended from the car side having its center of gravity between the rotor axis and the side of the car, and the lower rigid car engaging portion being adapted to deliver successive horizontally directed blows against the car side when the unbalanced rotor is actuated.

2. An evacuator as set forth in claim 1 wherein the portion of the evacuator frame from the rotor upwardly to the point of suspension from the car side is subjected to tension stresses only and the rigid car engaging means is subjected to compression stresses only.

3. An evacuator for hopper cars, comprising a rotor carrying frame, an unbalanced rotor supported by said frame, rigid means carried by the frame extending upwardly from the rotor for suspending the evacuator from the top of one side of the hopper car with the axis of the rotor paral lel with the car side, and separate rigid car engaging means carried by the frame and extending from the frame inwardly to the car side substantially at its underframe or floor level and adapted when the evacuator is suspended from the top of the car side to pound the side of the car at said point of engagement and spacing the rotor substantially away from the car body, the rotor axis being located beyond an arc having a radius extending half way from the point of suspension of the evacuator from the car side as a center of the arc to the point of contact of said rigid car engaging means with said car side, said evacuator when suspended from the car side having its center of gravity between the rotor axis and the side of the car.

LELAND G. PLANT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 333,761 Stevens Oct. 23, 1906 1,689,154 Pickop Oct. 23, 1928 1,774,896 Miller Sept. 2, 1930 1,804,949 Pickop May 12, 1931 1,932,520 Horsch Oct. 31, 1933 2,060,130 Scott Nov. 10, 1936 2,229,037 Boldman Jan. 21, 1941 2,471,849 Wallace May 31, 1949 2,504,789 Bankauf et al Apr. 18, 1950 2,507,749 Bacheldor May 16, 1950 2,528,620 Stroud Mar. 7, 1950 2,546,806 Wenander Mar. 27, 1951 2,621,813 Bauerle et a1 Dec. 16, 1952 

